Monday, December 20, 2010

Can I get an Amen?

Yesterday at church we had some visitors who are a little more outspoken and charismatic in terms of their worship/listening-to-sermon style than most at ABC, and that of course encouraged many of our own members who are outspoken and charismatic but usually lay low (the closet ameners and hallelujah-ers, as I like to think of them). Long story short, as our pastor neared the end of his sermon, some folks was gettin riled up! He was preaching about the invalid Jesus healed at Bethsaida in John 5, and about why Jesus asked if he wanted to be well. Because being well means standing up for Jesus (Amen!), it might mean becoming unpopular, and this man quickly found himself in conflict with the pharisees over Sabbath laws (Jesus told him to pick up his mat, then the pharisees busted him for it). Being well could mean saying no to premarital sex (Amen!); it could mean losing a job (crickets chirped).

Okay, so crickets didn't literally chirp. But there was a silence that I found... hilarious. All of these grown, married people were all fired up to yell Amen against premarital sex, but nobody seemed too concerned to shout a spiritual high five to our pastor for talking about job loss. Maybe they were just catching their breath.